8 (Free!) Things Your Kid Needs on the First Day of School
Despite what kids say—usually with pleading, desperate eyes—an iPad or a pair of $200 jeans isn't really going to help them on the most anxiety-inducing day of the year. Here's what will.
By Leigh Newman
A "My Sister Drove My Mom's Car into Our House" Story
In the world of obsessively attentive parenting and all-enrichment-all-the-time childhoods, the simple question "What did you do this summer?" can be challenging. Some of the kids in class are going to respond, "I went to Antarctica to study endangered penguins." Others are going to say, "I toured the continent, performing on my French horn." Describing months spent in your yard, squashing ants and reading comics is going to feel, well, lame. Two years ago, my son felt the same sense of horror and told everyone that he had gone to Alaska. He made really vivid drawings to support this total lie, which was how I found out about it, after the teacher asked me to come in and talk about feeding moose some lettuce. Even if your kid didn't dig a well in India this August, he did something unique that other people probably didn't. Like riding in the backseat as an older sibling learned to drive, which is a far better (read: funnier) an experience than going to a NASA space camp.
Next: 6 key people to know at your child's school
Next: 6 key people to know at your child's school
Published 08/27/2012